I think that some of the information that was posted in the old forum should be posted here too, in order to store some of the most important information*, and also because some new swappers who may come to the forum will find it useful. (And also, the "old" forum members will be pleased to have the information at hand).

I will post the important information in a single post (instead of multiple posts), as I think it is better. (If not, administrators may change it I suppose). Please, note that I "missed" some posts with no information (such as messages containing just "Oh! Thanks for this info" or "thanx for sharing" or the like).

*To be honest: the information that I think is important and/or relevant for this purpose.

Shipping coins safely. (Original message from trancemaster2k in the old forum)

trancemaster2k wrote:This short guide should be an example for (new) coin swappersto show off how to securely sending your coins.

1st step (you need):

coins

small bags (76x40mm)

file cards (105x74mm)

2nd step (you need):

bubbled bag (170x130mm)

stapler tool

tesa film

3rd step:The coins should be put inside the small bags to preventfingerprints on it. Do never touch (UNC) coins for otherswappers with your fingers !With the stapler tool you can seal the coins on the first file card.

4th step:Now go on and seal all other coins (4 in my example) onthe first file card. They should seal like seen in the image sothey can't move !

5th step:All coins are sealed so we have to protect them. No one shouldbe able to fumble that you are sending money inside your envelope !To do this take the second file card and use tesa film on all4 edges.

6th step:Put the coins inside the envelope and protect it with tesa film on theback to prevent fast opening / stealing the coins.

Now your coins are well packed and the envelopeshould arrive without any coins being stolen

If you buy larger amounts of file cards / bubbled bags andsmall bags (for the coins) on e.g. eBay the packing costsaren't that high - around 0,25Eur for one swap.

euro_space wrote:Hi @All

I use also the silver paper (such as for cooking) to cover the pack before entering into the envelope, so through the scanner does not see coins and banknotes.

exchequer wrote:The photo shots of the way swappers should pack their coins for posting is interesting and also very informative. However, I think that one must also be cautious when giving away certain tricks that are meant to elude scanning and also prevent possible pilferage.

When advising swappers how to post their specimens, I believe that it is enough to stick to the generic way of the kind of package that needs to be used. The thread started when one member complained that bulky and heavy items were packed in a bubble type envelope when a cardboard box should have been the ‘case’. I totally agree with this and it should be encouraged since the contents are understandably valuable and the receiver expects to receive his package in good order.

But to go into the intricacies of how to camouflage a parcel and giving all the details on a web site that can be accessed by bad intentioned browsers I find very inconsiderate. New swappers should be made aware that their swapper partners besides expecting a fair swap with good quality items also look forward to receiving their specimens undamaged and well protected.

Anthony

Bernard3 wrote:In my opinion wrapping in silver paper doesn't sound like a good thing to do. I understand the idea of preventing pilferage by the post (with the help of scanners that are meant for security). However if I were controlling post with a scanner and I saw something of what I couldn't see the content, I think I opened the enveloppe to see if there is nothing dangerous in it. So I think it just works contrarily.

If one packs the coins well in a bubble-enveloppe, and make sure one can't hear the coins when you drop it (like the way this excelent manual shows), I think he did a good job and shouldn't do anymore.

Bernard

gavros wrote:

Luit wrote:The silver paper is important in countries like Greece, where it is forbidden to send money in the post.When money is not forbidden, there is no need to use this method.

Luit

This is true Luit about the law but almost 99.9% of the times that you post a registered letter from Greece they never ask you what you have inside the envelope or package.Also there is no x-rais machine for scanning them as it is in Italy(as far as I know).Therefore if you post something for the U.S.A. they ask you to see whats inside and to seel the envelope infront of them and give it to them so they post it.

Alex

Mathias wrote:Indeed it's very important to put the coins on a piece of cardboard so the coins are not lose in the envelope.Here two examples of how post is treated. These are the two last envelopes I received . Thanks to the very good packing, no coins got lost.

These are examples why it's worth to send coins carefully. It can prevent a lot of trouble between swappers!

On this there is even a part of the envelope missing .

And even registered mail isn't safe!

Translation of the text of the stickers:Dear customer,your sending was damaged accidentally.Our apologizes.

Mathias

magneto wrote:One solution maybe is this : Tyvek envelopes

Water Resistant, Rip Resistant, Lightweight

Cost : 10 Euro for 10 Envelopes

vietnampenpal wrote:I would recommend this kind of plastic sealer

It cost me 10EUR, but on amosadvantage I saw its price at 50 USD or so. But it's very convenient and last long.

And the result is as follows

And you simply put the cardboard in the normal envelope, needless of buble or so.

By the way, the little bags as on the first post cost me 1 EUR/100 pcs

Not from the same topic (in the old forum), but I still think that it is important, and it is rellated with this info. So I put it here, together within the same discussion:

mike wrote:I just want to share with you (who don't know yet and if the same sistem of letter weight is in your country) that it is sometimes better to send things (coins) in seperate letters (2-3) than together, because ranges of weight for heavier shipments is bigger than for easier…

So if you send all together you pay 6,54 eur (+ letter), if you send seperate you pay 4.17 (+ new letter max 20c) = total about 4.4 eur and your bonus is 1x 2€ CC

Regards; Mike

patrick31698 wrote:Thats similar to german post. They have letters up to 20g for 075€ , up to 50g for 1,45€ and then up to 500gfor 3,45€.so if you send something between 50 and 100g it is also cheaper to split the pack